Thermal transfer printing includes transferring ink from a thermal transfer ribbon (i.e., ribbon, ink ribbon, transfer ribbon, transfer film) to thermal transfer paper (i.e., paper, paper stock, label, tag) using heat, pressure, and peeling. The media (i.e., paper/ribbon) used for printing must be replenished regularly by reloading the thermal transfer printer (i.e., printer). While performed regularly, the loading of paper/ribbon may occur infrequently enough that mistakes may occur.
Thermal transfer paper/ribbon is typically packaged in spools. Loading the paper/ribbon into a thermal transfer printer often requires mounting a spool of the paper/ribbon onto a spindle and feeding a portion of the wound material along a precise path (i.e., track) through the thermal transfer printer. A common mistake is feeding the paper/ribbon through the wrong path (i.e., misfeed). Misfeeding paper/ribbon in a thermal transfer printer can lead to poor print quality, printer downtime, media waste, and/or unforeseen expense. Since thermal transfer printers are often used in environments (e.g., manufacturing, shipping, etc.) that are especially sensitive to these conditions, a need exists for means/method to help eliminate misfeeding media when loading (or reloading) thermal transfer printers.